Vampire Heart
by Emma Sparrow
Summary: Dean puts himself and Sam in danger when he falls for the wrong kind of girl. Will he see sense before its too late? TWO PART SHORT STORY - NOW COMPLETE!
1. PART ONE OF TWO

Claire Appleton started to briskly walk down the street, her heels clicked hard on the sidewalk. It was only two blocks to Barney's, the bar that she had worked at for the past two years. It hadn't been the best job in the world but it made her just enough to pay the rent on her apartment, which was also not the best in the world, but for now, it was her home.

It wasn't as if she'd had any other choice anyway. After her parents had died in the car accident three years ago, she'd had to quit her course at the university. There was no time for education, if she hadn't gone into full-time employment, she would have probably wound up homeless by now.

Her parents had never had any money when they were alive, in fact, the debts that they had run up had meant, that upon their death, their house was seized to pay back the various banks that they had taken loans with. It had left herself and her twin brother no other option then to find somewhere else to live. Somewhere cheap.

But her brother Chris had skipped out after a few months after arriving here in downtown San Fransisco, leaving her completely alone to depend on herself. He'd always been a lazy bastard anyway, not willing to pull his weight, but that was no excuse for the trouble that he had ended up in. For the trouble that he had landed _her_ in.

She remembered clearly how It had all started, when he began hanging out with the two morons who used to loiter outside the apartment building when they had first moved in. One of them went by a nickname, Shark, a tall, very skinny African-American. She had never found out his real name, but eventually, she had at least guessed the reason that he preferred to be named after a dangerous animal. As for the other one, Simon Jennings, a pale scruffy man who always wore baggy jeans, just scared the hell out of her, even before she had found out about the secret that he and Shark shared. The way he would stare at her with intense dark eyes, it almost felt like he was trying to burn a hole within her. And of course, and most importantly, it had been him who had turned her and Chris into what they were.

They had turned Chris first, that was just after he'd moved out of the apartment, but then, the three of them showed up one night, broke down the door, their fangs bared, and came after her. She had tried desperately to escape, had ran to the window planning to get out onto the fire escape, but the damn window was stuck. She'd cursed the landlord's name knowing that she had asked him to get it fixed since they day she had moved in, but of course, he'd made every excuse he could to put it off. If he had only gotten it done, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

So, she had become a rat in a trap. Simon pined her down and made the small bite at the back of her neck. He then bit into his own flesh and pressed the blood against her wound to infect her. She had been convinced at the instant that she had started to feel the pain surge through her, that it would end at any moment, but it didn't. Instead, Simon backed away, those eyes, those evil eyes glaring at her. And that is when they told her what she had become. What they had made her into. And that they would get her to join them.

Then they had simply laughed at her before running out of the apartment. Even though she had felt weak, she followed them out into the street. She didn't want to, but it was as if some new instinct had taken over her body and was telling her that she needed to go along with them, but by the time she had caught up, they were in an alley at the side of the building and she discovered that a teenage girl hadn't been as lucky as her.

Chris, Shark and Simon were stood over the body, blood covering their lips. Claire remembered screaming at the sight of the life lost to the monsters before her, left unable to understand what she was seeing, but feeling a sudden intolerable thirst well up inside her. She had felt the need to drink some blood too, but threw up behind a trash can as soon as she realised what her body was telling her to do.

The next thing she knew, she had found herself running back into the building and back up the stairs to her apartment. She stumbled carelessly in her new-found panic, and tripped over, her head smacking into the hard wood floor.

She had woken up in the morning right where she had fallen, left to figure out the magnitude of what had become of her, the weeks and the months that followed filled with research about vampires and desperate attempts to cope.

She hadn't seen them again since that night, but a feeling within her told her that it would only be a matter of time before they showed up again, wanting her to join them in their sick quest to live forever. But ever since the day they had done it, ever since she saw what Shark, Simon, and Chris had done to that poor girl in the alley that night, she had vowed that she would _never_ let herself succumb to the thirst. She would _never_ kill a human being and drink their blood. She would fight it, right to the end.

It had become harder as time had past, to resist the urge, but, she had found out that she could sustain herself enough on animal blood. Luckily, there was a slaughterhouse not from from the apartment, so she would sneak in every few nights to feed. But as much as she needed an alternative way to control her 'condition', she could still easily vomit at the mere thought of it. But it was the only way to survive now, and survive she did. Somehow.

Every day, she maintained the same routine, working to keep her mind off what was happening to her, working to at least appear to be normal. How long she could keep up this facade however, was a question she tried to avoid asking herself, but knew that one day, she would have face what she was. But not yet. She wasn't ready yet. She was only twenty six for God's sake, but had been plunged into this fucked-up situation against her will, her humanity stripped from her cruelly without rhyme or reason.

At the moment, being only half-vampire, she could still manage to hold her head up high knowing that she hadn't committed the same brutal murders that Chris, Shark and Simon had been. How can Chris have let himself become a monster like that? How could he be so disgusting?

A suddenly cold snap of air caught on her skin breaking her away from her memories, and she shivered. She pulled her long black coat more snugly around herself and sighed, but it wouldn't be long until she was indoors now, in fact, Barney's was just around the next corner from where she was.

As she rounded the corner, she put on her bravest face and tried to shake off the bad memories, then reached for the door handle.

**S~U~P~E~R~N~A~T~U~R~A~L**

Dean Winchester chugged down the last of his beer as he noticed a rather beautiful specimen walk through the door. This bar was okay, except up until now, there had been a severe lack of girls, well at least none that he'd be in a rush to get to know. But this girl caught his attention.

Her long, straight black hair swayed slightly as she walked up to a staff door at the side of the bar, her slender figure accented by the long black coat, although Dean being Dean couldn't wait to see what was underneath. He sighed as she disappeared through the door, only to find himself perking up again when she re-appeared behind the bar a few moments later. Of course now, there was no coat, and he was pleased to see that she was very plentiful up top and was wearing a _very_ sexy low cut top, with a lace trim. He liked women in lace. He smiled to himself, enjoying the view, that was until he felt someone purposefully tap his arm bringing him out of his reverie.

"Dean!" said his brother Sam who was starting to get irritated, "Have you been listening to a single word that I've said?"

Dean fought his manly urges and reluctantly turned his gaze on Sam, "What you say?" he asked stupidly, a weird grin still on his face.

Sam rolled his eyes. Dean was so easily distracted by a pretty girl. It wasn't like Sam didn't have a look himself every once in a while, but at least he could control himself whilst discussing a job, especially one that involved people being killed in the way that they were here in San Fransisco.

"The job Dean. We were supposed to be talking about the job."

"On yeah." Dean shrugged, "But y'know Sammy, theres no harm in doing a little sight seeing as well while we're here." he smirked, his eyes slipping back to look at the barmaid again.

"Dude! Can you just focus!" Sam snapped.

"Okay, okay! Don't get your panties in a bunch collage boy!" Dean huffed as he faced his brother again, his expression thankfully turning more serious, much to Sam's relief. "So what we got so far?"

"Well, the article I read said that the most of the deaths so far had occurred in this immediate area, 10 of which have taken place over the last month alone, one of those last night. The deaths have been increasing over the past couple of years, but of course, the police have never been able to find the culprits and have put it down to a serial killer."

"Yeah, because good old law enforcement don't know what we know about what's _really_ out there."

"Anyway," Sam continued, "I'm guessing that the nest must be really close. That maybe they've been forced to move into a more populated area for some reason or another."

"Yeah, but Sam, where do we start? I mean, theres like hundreds of buildings around here, plenty of places for freaks to hide out."

"Well that's definitely a problem, but if their risking killing so many people in the same area, maybe they will slip up."

"_Slip up_? What are you, like amateur or somthin'?" Dean said sarcastically.

"Well y'know, maybe we'll get lucky."

Dean started to stand up, the smile from before re-appearing "Well, talking about maybe gettin' lucky..." with that, he made his way over to the bar.

**S~U~P~E~R~N~A~T~U~R~A~L**

Claire tried not to stare too much at the cute guy as he approached the bar. It wasn't as if there was much point in getting any ideas, she couldn't allow herself to get mixed up with that kind of thing anyway, in case someone found out the truth about her. Getting close to anyone would be a big mistake, even for one-nighters, which this guy looked like he'd probably go for. Guys this good looking wern't the type to get serious and settle down with _anyone_.

"Can I get two more beers please?" he said smiling as he reached her. He slapped down some dollar bills.

"Yeah sure." she answered stepping over to the cooler and removing two bottles. She opened the tops, then handed them to him.

"So would it be totally corny if I was to ask what a nice girl like you was doin' workin' in a dive like this?" he said.

Claire grinned, amused, "Look, I don't date customers, if that's what your getting at. Sorry."

"Well that's good seeing as this is the only time that I've ever been in here, and probably won't be comin' back. So I don't think I'm qualified to be called a customer." he smiled, "Names Dean by the way."

"Well Names Dean, I'm not interested." she took his money and went to the register to ring it up.

"How can you know you're not interested when you havn't even given me a chance yet?" Dean asked hopefully.

Claire met his eyes again. Damn him! His presence was starting to give her certain urges. Urges that she knew she would just have to keep on fighting. It was just a case of finding the right words to put him off without coming off as a _total_ bitch. "Well thing is, if your not going to be coming by this way any more, that can only mean one thing, Dean. You'll make me feel like the luckiest gal alive tonight, but then in the morning, you'll take off leaving me feeling like a used whore." she said with humour.

"Not the way I do _my_ lovin'." he said, still smiling in a very seductive way. His words were laced with temptation, reeling her in as every moment rolled by. "So anyway, you didn't tell me you're name."

"It's Claire, and did any one ever tell you that you are way too fast?" she was meaning to say this in a more stand-offish way, but the words came out more friendly then she'd intended.

"Yeah, well I figure life is _waaay_ too short. You never know when your times gonna be up. Gotta make the most of it while we have chance, don't you think?"

This made Claire think about the fact that she actually _had_ all the time in the world. After all, she was immortal now, the only up side of being a vampire, even half of one. But then again, what kind of life would it be if she had to hide away from every guy that she took a shine to? Lonely. _That's_ what it would be like.

She hadn't realised that her expression had changed so dramatically while she had been mulling these thoughts over until Dean spoke up again.

"Claire? Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned tone.

"I'm fine." she lied. "Look, I have to get back to work or my boss will be on my back." this time her tone was harsh. She turned her back to Dean and began to busy herself by wiping down the counter under the line of optics.

"Well I guess that tells me then." she heard Dean mutter as he walked away.

This just wasn't fair. She liked him so much, but it wouldn't have been fair on him to take things any further. His life would be in danger around her, and she really didn't want him to wind up as her first kill.

Just then someone walked through the door and Claire looked up from the now over-clean surface to see who had entered. What she saw sent shivers of horror through her. It was Chris. He was looking through the crowd of customers, searching.

Nervously, she tried to make an exit from behind the bar, heading quickly towards the staff door hoping that he hadn't seen her. But just as she reached for the handle, she felt a hand grip her by the wrist tightly. She turned her head cautiously to meet Chris' eyes.

"I need to talk to you sis." he said in a strangely gentle voice.

"Please, you have to go." she whispered, "I can't have anything to do with you any more..."

"But I need your help. I want to change Claire. I hate what I've become."

"Don't you think that it's a little late?"

"At least give me a chance to explain myself."

"What's there to explain?" she quickly looked around to make sure that nobody was close enough to hear before she continued, "You've killed people. How can you expect me to listen to anything you have to say!"

"I want to be like you now...I don't wanna hurt anyone any more. You've managed to stop yourself...teach me how."

"How do I know I can trust you Chris? What you did...what those friends of yours did..."

"They're gone. Took off so we won't be bothered by them any more. It will be just you and me, like before."

"But..."

"Please," he interrupted, "give me a chance."

Claire was lost for words. Even though Chris had murdered innocent people, looking into his eyes right now she could almost see the brother that he had been before all of their troubles had begun."

"Can we go somewhere private and talk about this?" he begged.

Though she still wasn't entirely sure wether it was a good idea or nor, she found herself nodding in agreement.

"Outside." she ordered, leading him through the door.

They walked silently through the back, past the small kitchen and outside to an enclosure where the trash cans were kept.

"Can you forgive me?" Chris asked eventually.

"How can I, Chris? You and your dumb ass friends turn me into this....this _thing_, then you go off drinking people's blood!"

"But its so much fun Claire." said a voice from the shadows.

Claire turned to see Simon and Shark step out from behind the trash, smirking at her.

"What the hell is this? Chris? she turned to face her brother again, only to discover that his expression had changed from that of the brother she'd just spoken to inside, into the monster that he really was now. She tried to duck past him, but he shoved her up against the wall.

"I'm sorry I had to do this Claire, but if you'd joined us when you had the chance..." Chris said.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!" she yelled, her whole body shaking.

Simon and Shark were getting closer now, she was trapped.

"Please don't do this..." she begged desperately, the tears starting to fall quickly from her eyes.

"We _have_ to do this Claire," Simon said, "If you won't be one of us, then we will have to kill you."

**S~U~P~E~R~N~A~T~U~R~A~L**

"So what now?" Dean asked as they left the bar and headed towards the Impala.

"Guess we go back to the motel, do some more research." Sam answered.

"Great!" said Dean sarcastically.

Just then, they heard a loud scream.

Instinctively, they ran in the direction that they had heard it which led them to a fenced off area next to where the Impala was parked up at the back of the building. Peering through a gap, they saw Claire from the bar surrounded by three guys, all of which had fangs and were about to attack her. "Well what do y'know. Guess we found our vamps after all, Sammy." Dean whispered.

"Dean, we need the machetes from the car."

"You go get them while I distract them." with that, Dean kicked at the fence and a section fell away, splinters showering off of it, whilst Sam went to the Impala and opened up the trunk.

The three vampires turned upon hearing that they had company, and turned their attention on Dean. They snarled and crept forwards in a stance ready to pounce across to him.

"Eating out fellas?" Dean asked sarcastically.

"Looks like we are, yes!" Shark said looking at him hungrily.

"Well, sorry to be the one to tell you this, but this hunter ain't on the menu tonight."

Suddenly Sam was at his side, handing him one of the two machetes that he had grabbed from the car.

Without delay, they ran towards the vampires, the moonlight glinting off the silver blades.

The vampires showed fear at the sight of the weapons and started to back away, but Chris tripped over a crate, stumbled and fell to the ground. Simon and Shark quickly climbed the fence at the other side of the enclosure, flinging themselves over.

"I'll go after them, you take care of him!" Sam shouted and ran to the fence climbing over it himself.

Dean held the machete confidently over Chris and was about to swing it at his neck when Claire cried out, "No, don't! Hes my brother!"

Distracted by this information, Dean turned his head to look at her. It gave Chris the chance he needed to get away. He shot to his feet and ran out into the street through the broken fence.

Dean sprinted after him, but as soon as he stepped out to the other side, he'd already gone. He ran a little way up the street, but couldn't find him.

"Damn it!" he shouted in frustration.

"Dean!" came the sound of Sam's voice from behind him. He turned to see his brother running in his direction.

"You okay Sam?"

"Yeah," Sam said breathlessly as he caught up to him, "But I don't know where they went to. They'd already took off before I got over the fence."

"Yeah and I lost the clumsy one."

"Lost him? How? He was right in front of you Dean."

"Yeah well the girl managed to take me by surprise. Turns out that it was her brother. I was about to gank him but she called out for me to stop. When I turned to look at her, he made a run for it."

"Her _brother_?" Sam asked in astonishment.

"Yeah well they say you can't pick your relatives."

"You know what Dean, this could actually be good news. She might know how to find them."

They made their way back to Claire, who they found huddled up on the ground sobbing.

"Hey Claire," said Dean softly, "You alright?"

Claire looked up at him. Her eyes were red and still full of fright, black smudges of mascara streaked down her cheeks.

"Its gonna be okay, I promise." Dean said when she didn't answer. He crouched down beside her and put a hand on her right shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"I...I should have let you kill him, shouldn't I?" she sniffed.

Dean sighed heavily, "Yeah. Won't be doin' anyone any favours if he keeps this up."

"Look Claire," Sam added sympathetically, "Your brother is a vampire. We can't let him, or the other two live. They have to be stopped."

"Who are you two anyway?" she asked them.

"We er, hunt things like your brother." Dean answered.

"We came to San Fransisco after reading about an increasing amount of murders. All of the victims were found completely drained of blood." Sam added.

"They were going to kill me too." Claire admitted, a fresh stream of tears trickling from her eyes.

"Then you need to help us." Sam said.

"How the hell can I help?" she asked defeated.

"Well for a start, you need to tell us if you know where your brother and his two buddies, er live, so to speak." Dean said.

"I...I don't know..." she trailed off. She then regarded Dean with a different expression, "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier. If I'd known that you were going to save my life tonight..."

"Hey, I've got thick skin. As long as you are alright, that's all that matters." he smiled looking deeply into her eyes. She accepted his attention this time and looked longingly back. Maybe it was the shock of what had just happened to her that was stopping her from putting her guard back up.

After a few moments, Sam let out an awkward cough to get their attention. Reluctantly Dean turned to look up at his brother. "Er Dean, maybe we should take Claire home and discuss all of this there instead."

"Yeah. That's a good idea." Dean agreed. He then stood up and offered his hand to Claire. She took it and let him pull her to her feet.

"I should go tell my boss I'm going." Claire said looking at the back door, "I'll say I'm not feeling well or something."

"Want me to come with you?" Dean offered.

Claire smiled as she wiped her face with the back of her hand, "No, it's okay. Its better if I do it alone, otherwise he might think I'm just blowing off my shift to hang out with you." she realised that she was still holding his hand and forced herself to let go.

"Good point." Dean said. "Once your done, meet us outside by my Chevy."

"Okay." with that, she made her way through the back door, and Sam and Dean made their way back out of the gap in the fence and walked over to the Impala.

"You really like her, don't you?" Sam asked before opening the passenger door, looking at Dean across the top of the car.

Dean paused, a guilty expression on his face, "I guess." he said trying to keep his tone non-committal, but Sam didn't buy it.

"Look. She was just attacked, maybe you should just, y'know, take it easy."

Dean shrugged it off, "Sammy, I _always_ take it easy."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother trying to understand why he couldn't take these things a little more seriously. "We'll have to kill her brother Dean. That's gonna mess her up and make things a little awkward."

"That ain't her brother any more Sammy. It may look like him, but even Claire realises that hes something else now. And when the time comes, we will get past it."

"_We?_" Sam asked incredulously, "What is this? Some love at first sight thing?"

"Don't talk bull Sam." Dean snapped in retaliation, though his heart was telling him that his brother was right. Somehow he'd fallen for Claire and felt an overwhelming need to love and protect her. He couldn't explain why he felt like this, it had never happened to him before.

He was saved from further questioning by Sam as they saw Claire walk out of the bar door, her coat wrapped around her.

Sam got into the car as she approached Dean, "Thank you for all of this." she said to him sweetly.

Dean smiled at her, "My pleasure." she looked so venerable standing there like she was, that he so badly wished that he could take her into his arms right now and hold her tightly.

He watched her get into the back seat before opening his own door and sitting himself behind the wheel. He quickly glanced at Sam but he was staring out of his window quietly. Returning his gaze towards the road, he turned his key in the ignition, started the car and drove off.


	2. PART TWO OF TWO

Once they had arrived at Claire's apartment, Sam and Dean explained to her how they were hunters and how it was that they'd be able to put an end to Chris, Simon and Shark's reign of terror. In return, Claire told them all about moving to San Fransisco with Chris, and how Simon and Shark had invited their way into his life. She told them how they'd turned him into a vampire, but left out the part about them turning _her_ into one. Though she could tell Dean was taken with her, she didn't know wether or not to test the situation by telling him and Sam the truth. She did however tell them that the three vampires had asked her to join them, to become one of them.

"It's gettin' late." Dean said after she had finished explaining everything. "You should get some rest Claire."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep all that well now. Besides, don't we have to figure out how to find my brother?"

"Well after what you've told us, I'd say theres a good chance that he'll try and come after you again. Maybe we should wait till he shows up. Hopefully he'll lead Simon and Shark here too." Sam said.

"You really think they'll come for me again?" Claire panicked.

Dean noticed her reaction, "Me and Sam are gonna stay here and keep an eye out for you until the jobs done. You don't have to be afraid. We've come up against worse." he said reassuringly.

"In fact, I was just thinking that one of us should keep watch on the building from the car." Sam said.

"Good idea Sam, call me if you see them." Dean said quickly.

Sam should have realised that as soon as he'd suggested the idea that Dean would be quick to give the task to him. Any excuse for him to be alone with Claire.

"Okay then." Sam sighed as he got up off the couch and made his way out of the door.

The room was suddenly very silent except for a clock ticking on the wall.

"I must look a mess." Claire said eventually.

Dean looked at her and smiled, "No. Actually you look quite beautiful in a _'nearly got bitten by a vampire'_ kind of way."

"Either way I could do with a shower." she said nervously though smiling at the compliment. She then went off into the bathroom leaving Dean alone with his thoughts.

After a few minutes, he reached for the TV remote that was on the table to the side of the couch, and pressed the on button. A news reporter appeared on the screen and the words 'Serial Killer strikes again' scrolled underneath the live footage. Dean turned the volume up. The reporter Hannah Todd was delivering grim news;

_'Police are yet to make a statement regarding the murder of two young women tonight, one of which was found in the building behind me, though it is rumoured that the bodies were found in an identical condition to that of the previous victims who were found drained of a lethal amount of blood before their bodies were dumped in various locations._

_'As before, the two latest victims are believed to have been picked at random as they are from different walks of life and were not connected to each other in any way apart from the tragic way that their lives were taken. This happens barely twenty four hours since the last murder, where a twenty five year old prostitute was found dead in a warehouse downtown. Our city is again left in fear of the serial killer, who has been nicknamed the Frisco Fiend. People are advised to be cautious and not to wander the streets alone. Please stay tuned for updates as we gather further information.'_

"Oh hell!" Dean said as what he'd heard sunk in.

"It was them, wasn't it?" Claire asked from behind him. Dean turned to see her appear form the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her wet hair draped over her shoulders.

"Sure sounds like their handy work, yeah." he sighed. "If me and Sam had caught them earlier...we could have stopped that."

"It's not your fault Dean. You tried your best."

"Yeah well our best just got two more people killed."

Claire sat down on the couch beside him and Dean again found that he couldn't take his eyes off her. It was all he could do to stop himself from ripping the towel away and do a lot more then just look. It wasn't easy though, especially as he watched a rivulet of water drip from her hair and slither down between her breasts disappearing beneath the the plush white cotton that covered them from his view. How he wished he was that drop of water right now.

He reluctantly tore his gaze away from that particular area and looked up into her eyes. He noticed that she was blushing slightly due to seeing where he'd been looking the moment before. Then to his surprise she leaned her head towards him and touched her soft lips against his, her sweet warm breath tasted good as he pulled her closer.

As their kisses became more intense she straddled him giving Dean the opportunity to let his hands roam around, exploring the silky white flesh on her thighs before slowly moving them higher up, daring to trespass underneath the towel. He felt her shiver at the feel of his caress but no sooner had he done that, then she broke away from him.

"I can't...I'm sorry..." she said as tears started to pour from her eyes.

"It's okay." Dean said gently.

"Theres things about me that you don't know." she sobbed into his chest. He hugged his strong arms around her.

"Ssshh." he whispered soothingly, massaging a hand gently on her back.

She cried for quite some time and Dean really wished that there was something he could do to make her feel better instead of feeling like the hopeless spectator of her personal anguish.

**S-U-P-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L**

"Can I ask you something?" Claire asked as her tears had finally started to subside. She shifted her position so that she could see Dean's face better.

"Sure."

"If you ever found out someone you knew, someone that you cared about had turned into a vampire, would you have to kill them?"

Dean looked confused at the choice of question, but answered it anyway. "If they'd killed someone...then I'd have no choice. No matter how much it would hurt, its my job." he sighed.

Claire got up from his lap and walked slowly across the room keeping her back to him. "What if I was to tell you that they turned me?" her voice was shaking.

Dean sat up straighter, "What?"

"I'm a vampire Dean." she confessed, "One night, Chris, Simon and Shark came here...and they made me one of them." she turned around to face him now. "I havn't killed anyone though. Not yet."

Dean got to his feet and made his way over to where she was stood. "Well I wasn't expecting this." he said blankly.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I lied to you and your brother, I've led you on. I just felt as though I couldn't lie to you any more."

"If you havn't killed anyone then how..."

"I drink animal blood." she answered before he could finish. "I'm a freak. You should have just let my brother kill me tonight. It would have been better for everyone."

"No. It wouldn't."

"It's no good Dean. I can't keep living like this."

"Look, I'll get you through this somehow, I promise." Dean said, his voice soft and genuine.

"But, people like me...we shouldn't even exist. It's wrong." a few more tears trickled from her eyes, "What if I slip up? What if I end up killing someone? I don't want to be like that. I'd rather die..."

"No! It doesn't have to be like that Claire. You've done fine up until now. We have come across other vampires who survive on just animal blood." he reached out his hands and cupped her face wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"I don't think I'm strong enough..." she said, in almost a whisper.

"Yes you are."

"No. You have to kill me Dean. You have to!" she backed away from him and grabbed the machete off the table where he had placed it earlier, and shoved it into his hand. "Do it!" she yelled, closing her eyes in anticipation, her whole body trembling.

Dean looked down at the machete then suddenly tossed it across the room. It clattered as it bounced off the far wall, then landed on the floor. "I'm not killing you!" he yelled back at her, prompting her to open her eyes.

"But you're a hunter! That's what you're supposed to do!"

"Not this time!"

"Then I'll do it myself somehow if I have to!" she tried to go after the machete but Dean grabbed one of her arms and swung her back towards him. Her body met his, and he pulled her even closer with both arms wrapping tightly around her. For the second time that evening, their lips met with an urgent passion and they kissed each other hard and greedily, desperate for more, desperate for it to last forever.

Dean reached to her front and yanked the towel away in one quick movement, whilst she tugged hungrily at the zip on his jeans. Without unlocking their lips, they shuffled into the direction of the bedroom.

**S-U-P-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L**

Dean sighed contentedly as he snuggled his muscular naked body closer to Claire who was now sound asleep thanks to their exhausting, although highly pleasurable, physical escapades. The sheets still felt damp from their sweat and clung to their skin intimately. H'ed never thought that he would have ended up feeling this way about anybody. But, he really truly believed what that feeling meant; that he had fallen in love. A power that had gripped him tightly, holding every ounce of his being at mercy.

He knew that falling for a vampire went against everything that he believed in. But for once, he found himself not caring. Throughout his life he'd given enough of himself to others, so wasn't it time that he took something for himself?

Just then, the sound of the main apartment door opening made him jump. He climbed out of the bed and pulled his jeans on quickly. He carefully looked out from the bedroom door, but was relieved to see that it was just Sam.

"Hey Sammy." he greeted him casually.

"Well, I didn't see any of the vamps outside." Sam yawned, stretching his arms out over his head. When he was done, he looked back at Dean and noticed that he was half-naked and dishevelled. "You _didn't_?" he asked in disbelief.

Dean grinned.

"Dude!" Sam raised his voice.

"Shush! Shes still asleep. Think I wore her out..."

"You know what, I don't wanna know."

Dean knew that he was going to have to tell him about Claire being a vamp, so he sucked in a deep breath. "Sam theres somethin' I gotta tell you." he said in a serious tone.

Sam looked worried, "What is it?"

"Claire kinda has another serious problem...shes a vampire too."

"Dean, I've been up all night, I'm tired as hell, so I'm really not in the mood for jokes."

"Its not a joke Sam. Her brother and his blood-sucking buddies turned her a while ago. She hasn't killed any one though, shes been drinking animal blood."

Sam's jaw dropped in shock, "Just out of interest, Dean. Did you find out about this before or after you slept with her?"

When Dean didn't answer, Sam guessed correctly.

"What were you thinking! She could have hurt you!"

"No. She'd never hurt me."

"How can you know that Dean? Vampires arn't exactly the most predictable creatures in the world. Not to mention the fact that its just..._wrong!_" Sam continued, a look of pure disgust on his face.

"What gives you the right to stand there and lecture me? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wern't you the one who got down and dirty with that demon bitch Ruby?"

"That was different Dean!"

"_Different?_ How is that different Sam?"

"Well for a start, I'd known her for more than five minutes before anything happened! I knew what to expect!"

"So what, your saying that demons _can't be_ unpredictable?"

"You know what Dean, I'm not getting into this with you!"

"I like how you'll quiz me about my wrong doings, but when I bring up something that you've done, its off limits!" Dean yelled back.

Sam paced towards the door, but before he walked out he turned to Dean one last time, "Do what the hell you like Dean! I'm done caring!" he then sighed, "I'm going back to the motel to clean up and get my things." he chucked Dean's car keys across the room and slammed the door behind himself as he left.

"Fine! Be like that!" Dean shouted after him.

**S-U-P-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L**

Sam managed to hitch a ride to the motel, and as soon he went into his and Dean's room, he grabbed his duffel and started to pile his stuff into it. He was starting to get real sick of the way that Dean talked down to him. Okay, so sleeping with Ruby had been a mistake, but Sam had admitted that to Dean in good faith as a gesture of honesty to his brother, but not for it to be used as ammunition when they got into a fight.

Just because Dean was older, it didn't mean that he got to call all the shots or make him the better judge of who was right, or who was wrong. And right now, _Dean_ was wrong. Getting involved with a vampire was putting him great danger, but he wasn't seeing clearly because love or whatever, was severely clouding his judgement.

Sam huffed as he took his frustration out on the clothes he was squeezing into the bag. When he was done with those, he went into the the bathroom to get his toothbrush and wash bag from the sink, but before he picked them up he turned the cold tap on, collected some of the water in cupped hands, and wiped them over his face to refresh his flustered skin. He then looked at himself in the mirror, which is when he saw the Chris, Simon and Shark standing behind him.

He quickly turned, but Chris lunged at him, pushing him so hard that his head cracked the mirror, knocking him out.

**S-U-P-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L**

"I didn't mean to fall out with him." Dean told Claire, "He might be a pain in the ass but hes still my brother and I love the stupid sonofabitch."

"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry Dean." Claire said.

"No it's not. I should have took more control of the situation."

Claire looked disappointed, "So you regret what happened between us?"

Dean took her hand, "No, I don't and never will."

Claire smiled. "Maybe you should try Sam's cell again." she suggested.

"No. I'll give him more time to cool off first, then we might have a better chance of having a sensible discussion."

But just then his own phone started to ring. He removed it from his pocket and looked at the I.D. on the screen. "It's Sam!" he said happily, then held the phone to his ear. "Sammy?"

"I'm afraid not." said an unfamiliar voice on the other end.

"Who is this?"

"Its Chris. I see you've been getting cozy with my sister."

"Wheres my brother you bastard?" Dean yelled. Claire not being able to hear the other side of the conversation, waited, worried.

"Hes safe. For now."

"What do you want?"

"I want my sister, Dean. If you don't bring her to me, we'll kill Sam."

"Where do I meet you?" Dean asked desperately.

"Theres an abandoned steel mill about five blocks from Claire's apartment. Be there in exactly an hour or your brother will suffer some extreme blood loss. Oh and Dean, don't try anything stupid, you'll only make things worse." with that, he hung up.

"What's happened?" Claire asked.

"Your brother and his friends have taken Sam."

"Oh my god!" she gasped.

"He said that they'll kill him if I don't take you to him."

Claire started shaking, but she knew what she had to do. "You and Sam saved my life last night Dean, so now, I save his."

"No! I'll work out how to do this without you!" Dean said, already running possible scenarios through his head.

"But Dean, I have to! You don't know them like I do. The're clever. Turn up without me and Sams dead! Theres no other way!" she stomped purposefully across the room and pulled her boots on.

"I can't let anything happen to either of you Claire."

"Look, maybe after they hand Sam back to you, I'll be able to get away somehow." she was trying to sound optimistic but wasn't quite pulling it off.

"I hope so." Dean said un-confidently.

**S-U-P-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L**

Both Dean and Claire were silent on the drive to the steel mill. Mostly this was because Dean was concentrating on trying to form a plan that would save Sam and also prevent Claire from ending up in danger. But he knew that until they arrived, there was no way of knowing the vampire's game plan, which rendered any of his ideas useless.

Eventually, he pulled up outside the huge building which was boarded up. It must have been many years since the workers had last clocked out.

They got out of the car, Dean fully alert to their surroundings and looking carefully around as he opened up the trunk and took out his machete. He wasn't sure wether or not the vamps would let him get away with bringing it in with him, but figured he needed to at least try.

They walked around the edge of the building to find a way in. Soon they came across a door so Dean opened it slowly peering around the frame as he did so. Unfortunately the hinges had rusted, so it creaked loudly with every movement.

They found themselves in a massive room, evidence of the production that the factory once did glared at them from every angle. Machines and tools of various shapes and sizes stood in separate stations, whilst rusted fillings carpeted the floor along with papers that had been left behind.

Dean grabbed Claire's hand, and they made their way across the room, still looking around as they went.

Just then there was a heavy clanking sound coming from above. They looked up to see Shark hanging from a thick chain in the rafters. "Hey! You made it!" he shouted down to them. Then he let himself fall through the air. He landed smoothly like an acrobat on his feet just in front of them. He grinned maliciously at Claire as he closed the gap between them.

"Wheres Sam, Shark?" she demanded.

"Hey, hey! Chill babe we'll get to that bit." he replied.

"No. You'll take us to him now you sonofabitch!" Dean shouted, his voice rich with fury.

Shark turned to face him. "First you gonna have to leave your little knife here." he said sarcastically as he placed his hands on his hips.

"It ain't so little when it cuts through vampire neck!" Dean retaliated.

Shark chuckled, "Either way my man, put it down or your bro stops breathin'."

Dean exchanged a quick glance with Claire before placing the machete on the ground in front of him, kicking it away to the side. It slid steadily across the gritty ground and came to a stop under a work bench.

Shark approved of the action. "Okay, I'll take you to you're precious Sam now."

He then led them across the room and through another door where they were confronted by Simon and Chris. Sam was bound and gagged in a chair behind them at the far end of the small room, his face bloody and bruised. He looked so weak that Dean's natural instinct was to run towards him, but Simon tripped him. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Easy there fella!" Simon mocked, "Not yet." Dean noticed him nodding a silent order to Chris, and he grabbed hold of Claire.

Seeing this made Dean madder then hell, "You hurt her, and I swear to god I'll..."

"What we do to her is no concern of yours now, unless of course you want me to continue beating your brother?" said Simon before punching Sam in the face to prove his point. Sam groaned in pain through the gag as more blood trickled down his face.

"Take her!" Simon told Chris, who dragged her back through the door.

"Please Chris! Let me go!" she pleaded with her brother as he took her. She continued to yell and scream at him as they got further away.

Dean tried to get to his feet but Simon kicked him back down. "You need to stay here with your brother Dean!" he snapped circling around him.

For some reason Shark left the room then, but Simon kept focused on Dean. "I realise that you will try and come after us Dean, but just so you know, I'm going to be locking you in here first. I know that you'll get out eventually, be we should be long gone by then and Claire will already be dead." With that he ran out of the room laughing slamming the door closed before Dean heard the click of a lock.

He got to his feet and rushed over to Sam. After removing the gag, he took out his pocket knife and cut him free.

"Dean....I'm sorry." Sam winced.

"Don't worry about that, are you okay?"

"Yeah except that my whole body aches."

Dean walked over to the door, and even though he knew it was locked, he tried forcing it open anyway. It wouldn't budge. He then turned back around and scanned the room floor to ceiling. "You think you'll be alright to climb through there?" he asked stepping forwards. He pointed to a large vent cover behind where Sam was sat. "I figure we'll be able to get out through there."

"You think we'll have time to save her?" Sam, asked as he stood up unsteadily from the chair taking a look at Dean's proposed escape route himself.

"I hope so." Dean went over to the vent cover, noticed that all but two of the screws were missing, so began pulling at it with his bare hands. Sam took a hold as well and helped him. After some effort the cover pulled off completely.

Dean pulled himself into the dark hole and started to crawl through with Sam following closely behind.

For a few long minutes they made their way through the dark labyrinth, before finally Dean spotted some light up just ahead. "Sam, I think I found the way out!." he shouted behind him.

"Good 'cus its starting to get claustrophobic in here." Sam huffed.

As Dean drew closer to the light, he squinted seeing that it was another vent cover. As soon as he reached it, he bashed at it with his fists and thankfully managed to work it loose and it dropped to the floor below with a crash.

He looked out to see they were slightly higher up now but he pulled himself out, twisting to keep hold of the end as the rest of his body dangled below. He then let go and safely landed on the ground where he waited for Sam. They were in a smaller room now, but as he looked around, he could see that there was a gap in the wall where the bricks had crumbled, leading directly outside.

After Sam had successfully made it out of the vent himself, they ran through the gap and around the outside of the building. Just when Dean thought they had made it back to where he and Claire had got into the building before, they heard shouts.

"Drop it Claire!" Chris was yelling.

"I can't Chris, I have to kill them before they can hurt anyone else!"

Dean and Sam slowed to take a look through a broken window and saw that Claire had the machete held to Simon's neck, Chris and Shark watching.

Before Sam could stop him, Dean continued running further along until he reached the door and burst through it. "You heard her. the Partys over boys!" he then turned to Claire, "It's alright, you can give me the machete back now. Me and Sam will take care of them." he took a second to smile at her, but Shark leapt forwards and pushed him away.

Sam ran through the door and punched Shark who fell face first across one of the machines. Frantically he then grabbed at a chain saw he'd seen on the floor, and by a stroke of luck, it started. With one quick movement, he decapitated the vampire. Blood spurted from the body as the head rolled away.

By now Dean had managed to get to his feet. He took the machete off Claire, and sliced through Simon's neck as if it were butter.

Chris realising that his days were numbered if he hung around any longer, decided to run through the mill.

"Stay here!" Dean shouted to Claire as he and Sam took off after the escapee. Sam took the chain saw along with him as extra protection.

They followed Chris down the whole length of the building through various adjoined rooms. He was fast but they managed to keep up. Just as they were closing the gap between them, somehow Chris had disappeared from view altogether.

"Maybe we should split up." Sam suggested. Dean nodded in agreement, and they walked off in different directions.

Dean walked carefully down a dirty passage way where thick pipes wound their way around the mouldy walls. A small noise suddenly caught his attention. Whatever, or whoever had made it must have been up ahead. Machete at the ready, he charged forward.

Reaching the end of the passage he entered another room and Chris was there trying to find a way out. But unfortunately for him, it was a dead end.

"Hey! Count Crapula!" Dean yelled.

Chris turned around, and having no other option then to prepare to fight back, he picked a steel bar off a table that was next to him.

Dean raced towards him, but the vampire fought back, hitting at the machete with the bar. For a short while they battled it out like this, but eventually Chris managed to knock Dean's weapon from his hands. It flew across the room, and he hit Dean hard around the back of the head sending him to the floor unconscious.

After dropping the bar, Chris walked away and retrieved the machete. After returning to Dean, he held it ready to attack. "You cut my friends heads off, now I do the same to you!" he yelled at Dean's still body.

Just as he had started to swing the blade towards Deans neck he heard a scream.

"No!" Claire yelled as she ran towards him, but he ignored her.

Without second thought, Claire flung herself into the path of the sharp edge which caught across her neck. The pain was over in a flash.

Chris stumbled back stunned as his sisters headless body collapsed onto the ground next to Dean. He dropped the machete and started shaking. "Claire! I didn't mean to...I never wanted to hurt you..." he sobbed as her blood spread fast across the floor. "I only wanted you to join us...so we could be a family again..." as he grieved he didn't notice Sam sneaking up on him to grab the machete.

Sam swung the blade fiercely, lobbing off Chris's head.

**S-U-P-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L**

"Dean?" Sam asked as his brother started coming to.

"Sam..." said Dean groggily. His head was pounding like a hangover from hell, but he managed to move slightly, focusing his eyes.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked him softly.

"I'm fine, I think." was the unsure reply. "What happened?" he sat himself up realising that he wasn't in the same room as before. He looked around quickly before meeting Sam's eyes. "Wheres Claire?"

Sam's eyes welled up with tears, "I'm sorry Dean. Shes gone."

"No. She can't be, she was safe..." Dean said, disbelieving what he'd just heard.

"She must have followed you," Sam continued, his words choked. "Her brother was going to kill you, but she died to save your life."

As a trickle of tears ran down his brother's face, the truth of what was happening crashed down on Dean like a ton of bricks. His heart suddenly felt like it was being suffocated as his own tears began to fall. "No Sammy, please don't let this be happening..." he sobbed.

Sam reached out and pulled Dean in close allowing him to find comfort in his arms. But he knew that it would take him a lot of time to come to terms with what had happened, like it had done when he'd lost Jess.

Their lives had been cruel to them, swallowing them into a never-ending pit of misery, but Sam knew something which he hoped that Dean would come to realise and find comfort in one day; that love lived on through those left behind, and as long as they remembered the ones who had already gone, they never die. Not really.

**THE END**


End file.
